Union Team Preview

Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy! It’s the month of July and that means it’s preview time! Throughout the month of July, we are publishing 100 team previews to get you ready for the 2022 season. This is something that began last year and has become even bigger and better this year. We’re looking forward to diving deep into the top teams across the state. From defending champs, to top contenders and dark horses, we’ll have complete coverage every single day with new teams from Class 6A down to A. In this post, we take a look at the Union Redhawks. They come into this season as the top team in our 6A-1 preseason rankings. Union Redhawks (6A-1 Preseason Ranking: #1) Union comes into this season looking to finish the job that they started last year. They made it to the 6A-1 championship game and had Jenks on the ropes, jumping out to a 15-0 lead. However, it was all Jenks after that and Union’s rival walked away with their second straight gold ball. Fast forward to today, and Union has reloaded for another run at the gold ball and they plan on being in Edmond once again in December. They come into this season as our preseason #1 team in 6A-1 and when you look at this team on paper, it’s hard to argue any other spot for them in the top ten. Union has been at the center of the offseason in terms of storylines. The Redhawks have had several top prospects move into the district that have caught the attention of the state. Even without some of those notable move ins, Union was going to return the majority of their starters on the offensive side of the ball. They bring back ten starters in total and with some of those new faces that started at other programs, both sides of the ball got plenty of talent added to it this offseason. Year after year, the expectation at programs like Union are state championships. So while they have a very notable quarterback battle going on this offseason, the goal remains the same and that’s to make it back to Edmond and bring home their first state championship since 2016. Head coach Kirk Fridrich is going into his 16th season as head coach of the Redhawks and is very excited about the potential that this team has. Union will once again have a tough schedule early on in the year but if they escape that mini gauntlet unbeaten, they’ll be in good shape for another run in 6A-1. <hr /> 2021 Results (11-2 Record - Class 6A-1 Runner Up) Aug. 27 - Beat Mansfield Lake Ridge, TX. 48-20 Sept. 3 - Beat Broken Arrow 38-28 Sept. 10 - Lost To Jenks 22-0 Sept. 24 - Beat Owasso 10-7 Oct. 1 - Beat Putnam City 35-7 Oct. 8 - Beat Mustang 48-10 Oct. 15 - Beat Moore 56-14 Oct. 22 - Beat Norman North 30-14 Oct. 29 - Beat Southmoore 42-0 Nov. 5 - Beat Edmond North 42-7 Quarterfinal - Beat Yukon 59-24 Semifinal - Beat Broken Arrow 17-14 Championship - Lost To Jenks 30-15 <hr /> Key Losses To Graduation Antonio Smith - Running Back Jayden Rowe - Defensive Back Makhai Belt - Athlete Rovaughn Banks - Athlete Will Thomas - Offensive Lineman <hr /> Players To Watch [player_tooltip player_id="98181" first="Bennett" last="Ringleb"] - 2023 Offensive Lineman Union had one of the best offensive line units in the state last year and they’ll have another solid unit this fall and it’s led by senior tackle [player_tooltip player_id="98181" first="Bennett" last="Ringleb"]. The senior had his junior cut short due to an injury and was unable to play in the state championship game. We got a chance to see Ringleb during team camps in May and it’s safe to say that not only is he back to 100 percent, but he’s ready to step into that leadership role along the offensive line that Will Thomas filled last season. Similar to Thomas, Ringleb is going into his senior year coming off an injury and is looking to have a strong season to attract the attention of college coaches. Like Thomas, we think that Ringleb is already a top ten prospect at his position. [player_tooltip player_id="57208" first="De’Marion" last="Thomas"] - 2023 Defensive Lineman We flip to the other side of the line of scrimmage to one of the more disruptive defensive tackles in the state’s 2023 class with [player_tooltip player_id="57208" first="De’Marion" last="Thomas"]. In the last month, Thomas committed to Vanderbilt after being recruited and offered by several Power 5 programs. Like Ringleb, Thomas was absolutely dominant when we saw him at the team camp back in May and that continued his streak of just dominating the person in front of him. Last year, Thomas also moved around and played on the offensive line but he is at his best when he’s getting after the quarterback, not protecting one. He has a very skilled linebacker and secondary behind him so Thomas is going to be able to do what he does best and that’s pin his ears back and explode up the middle. [player_tooltip player_id="287383" first="Devin" last="Robinson"] - 2023 Defensive Back We mentioned all the talent behind Thomas and in the secondary specifically. Leading the secondary this year will be 2023 safety [player_tooltip player_id="287383" first="Devin" last="Robinson"], another D1 commit as he committed to Tulsa in the last month. Robinson is a safety prospect who we’ve seen a lot of while he was playing for Sooner 7 in the offseason. Robinson has had an outstanding offseason and is ready to lead Union’s defense into this season. He has some talented players around him but they’re inexperienced right now. They’ll look to Robinson to be the leader of the secondary and an extension of the coaching staff on the field. Robinson knows what to expect at this point and is one of the big reasons why we like Union’s defense going into this season. [player_tooltip player_id="110747" first="Jino" last="Boyd"] - 2024 Wide Receiver This time last year, we were excited about the potential of Union 2024 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id="110747" first="Jino" last="Boyd"] after watching him throughout the offseason. Fast forward to today and we don’t have to talk about potential anymore. You can just talk about production. In a run-first offense last year, Boyd was still Union’s leading receiver and top deep threat as a sophomore. That just doesn’t happen very often at a program like Union. Boyd has been a player that Union’s coaches have been excited about for years now and the talent is starting to match the hype on the field. Boyd was incredibly productive last year and as Union moves to more of a balanced offense this fall, we expect Boyd to be one of the most productive wide receivers in Class 6A-1. TBD Union Quarterbacks Let’s be honest, this is one of the bigger storylines from this offseason as Union had not one but two starting quarterbacks move into their district to go along with returning 2023 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="376092" first="Grayson" last="Tempest"]. 2024 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="115729" first="Simian" last="Gilkey"] moved in from Bartlesville and 2025 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="188014" first="Shaker" last="Reisig"] moved in from Jenks, which again, let’s be honest, sent shockwaves across Oklahoma. Now the three quarterbacks will be battling it out to see who will be QB1. Tempest was Union’s starter last season until an injury ended his junior season. Gilkey started for Bartlesville and has one of the strongest arms in the 2024 class. And then Reisig was a starting quarterback for a state championship team as a freshman. So needless to say, all three have a case. More Names To Know [player_tooltip player_id="57166" first="Braylen" last="Irvin-Fisher"] - 2023 Tight End/Linebacker Bryce Ashlock - 2023 Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="319804" first="Devon" last="Jordan"] - 2024 Athlete [player_tooltip player_id="219073" first="DJ" last="McKinney"] - 2023 Running Back [player_tooltip player_id="110740" first="Issac" last="Covington"] - 2024 Defensive Back [player_tooltip player_id="211568" first="Jesse" last="Jones"] - 2025 Offensive Lineman [player_tooltip player_id="110741" first="Lane" last="Wood"] - 2024 Tight End [player_tooltip player_id="310982" first="Thomas" last="Gothard"] - 2023 Defensive Back <hr /> 2022 Schedule/Games To Circle Aug. 26 - Westmoore Sept. 2 - AT Broken Arrow Sept. 9 - Jenks - The storylines for Jenks-Union always write themselves and this is always a game to circle on the calendar before every season. But this year, the hype around the annual rivalry game might be at an all time high. Not only is this a rematch of last year’s state championship game. Not only is this one of the best rivalry games in the country. But the energy around this rivalry clash reached another level this offseason when Reisig moved over to Union and joined the Redhawk football program a day after practicing with Jenks in May. We don’t really have to say anything else to hype up this match-up at this point. Sept. 23 - AT Owasso - After three non-district games, Union will get a break in week three before opening up district play on the road against Owasso. These two have dominated the district over the last five seasons and this year will probably not be much different as both are top contenders to win it all in 6A-1. Coincidentally, these two have also had to square off against one another in the first district game of the season over the last few years and this year is no different. That definitely presents challenges but it’s not crazy to assume that the district champion might be the winner of this late September clash. But a lot of football will be played after this week four contest. Sept. 30 - Yukon Oct. 6 - AT Norman Oct. 13 - AT Mustang - Another key district game takes place on a Fall Break week seven when Union will go west to face Mustang. These three teams are the top three teams in the district heading into this season. Mustang took a step towards being a true contender last year when they went on the road and beat Owasso and then made it all the way to the semifinals and gave eventual champion Jenks a run for their money in that one. With the majority of their starters back, Mustang is ready to not just be a contender in their district, they want to be a contender in 6A-1 and have to be considered a top five team heading into this season in 6A-1. Oct. 20 - Edmond Santa Fe Oct. 28 - Edmond Memorial Nov. 3 - AT Edmond North <hr /> Notable Union had to settle for the silver ball last year when they lost to the Trojans 30-15. That made it five seasons since Union last won a state championship with the last coming in 2016 against Norman North. Since 2002, when Union won their second state title and first since 1963, the Redhawks have never more than four years without winning at least one gold ball. Most programs would love to be in Union’s position with one championship since 2012. But let’s be honest, Union isn’t most programs. Five years without a championship feels like an eternity and if they don’t win it all this year, it’ll be six years. Union came close last season but the Redhawks are hungry and determined to not only make a return trip to Edmond, but they want to end the drought and bring what would be their tenth state championship in school history back to Tulsa. <hr /> Championship History 9 State Championships 2016 - Beat Norman North 57-43 2011 - Beat Broken Arrow 23-22 2010 - Beat Jenks 50-47 2009 - Beat Jenks 52-19 2008 - Beat Jenks 34-20 2005 - Beat Mustang 33-7 2004 - Beat Jenks 27-17 2002 - Beat Broken Arrow 52-3 1963 - Beat Mooreland 24-14